The present invention relates to adapting an existing automatic call distribution (ACD) system, designed for routing telephone calls, to allow log-on of an agent without use of a circuit switched voice port.
ACD systems are typically used to distribute telephone calls among a group of agents of an organization. ACD systems may be used to distribute calls under any of a number of different formats. In a first instance, the term xe2x80x9ccallxe2x80x9d may be used to refer to a request for communication received from (or placed through) a public switched telephone network (PSTN). A call may also be a voice path based upon packet data transferred through the Internet using web telephony. Alternatively, a call may be any communication such as an e-mail, a facsimile, video, web-site inquiry received through the Internet, etc. Thus, ACD systems are transaction processing systems which typically handle one or more of a wide variety of these xe2x80x9ccallxe2x80x9d types.
An organization often disseminates a single telephone number, URL or e-mail address to customers and to the public in general as a means of contacting the organization. As calls are directed to the organization from the PSTN or the Internet, the ACD system directs the calls to the organization""s agents based upon some algorithm. For example, where all agents are considered equal, the ACD may distribute a call based on which agent has been idle the longest time. Of course, there are many other possible ways to select an agent, or a subgroup of agents from whom an available one will be selected.
The ACD system is typically provided with at least two routing mechanisms for establishing call paths between callers and agents. A first path may be established through a circuit switched voice port, such as for calls from the PSTN. An alternative path may be a data link (such as over a Local Area Network (LAN)) such as for an e-mail received through a computer network such as the Internet.
Control of the switching and communications with a database and with an external network such as a PSTN may, for example, be accomplished generally as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,268,903 and 5,140,611, both to Jones et al. which are hereby incorporated by reference. Routing of calls to agents may, for example, be accomplished generally as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,335,269 to Steinlicht, U.S. Pat. No. 5,365,581 to Baker et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 5,400,327 to Dezonno, which are hereby incorporated by reference.
An ACD system generally will direct calls only to agents who have xe2x80x9clogged-on.xe2x80x9d That is, the system will not direct a call to an agent station, if there is no agent present to handle calls. Of course, an agent may be occupied with another call at a given time, but the agent would not even be eligible to receive calls if not logged-on.
Many existing ACD systems were created with a focus on circuit switched telephone communications, and other call formats were incorporated into the system as the need arose. However, there can be a data link with most agents even if many agents handle only circuit switched telephone calls. For example, it may be important for an agent to have ready access to customer files in systems associated with service organizations, where many calls are received and handled by many agents. A database is maintained of existing customer files, which may be displayed on agent terminals as the agents converse with specific customers.
In a typical agent log-on procedure, the agent utilizes software which can transmit information such as an agent identifier, a telephone identifier, and a data processing station identifier to the ACD. The ACD establishes a connection to the identified telephone via a circuit switched voice port. Once that telephone connection is established, the xe2x80x9clog-onxe2x80x9d is completed, and the agent is eligible to receive calls. Telephone calls may be directed through that circuit switched voice port. Other call formats, such as e-mail, may be directed to that agent""s data processing station, such as a personal computer.
There are ACD systems which were never designed to route circuit switched telephone calls, or which were never designed to require a circuit switched telephone connection to establish agent log-on. However, there is a need for an ACD, which normally logs-on an agent by establishing a circuit switched telephone connection with the agent""s telephone, or at least normally requires entry of a telephone identifier, to be able to log-on an agent (who will handle calls only in other formats) without using a circuit switched voice port. In this way, it will be possible to make more efficient use of circuit switched voice ports.
The log-on is accomplished by using a xe2x80x9cpseudo portxe2x80x9d to emulate the operations of a circuit switched voice port in the existing ACD system. It includes allocation of memory resources, linkage to the agent connection, and initialization of system data in order to satisfy the operating requirements of the existing ACD system. An indication of a need for a pseudo-port is input into the ACD in lieu of an agent telephone identifier. Upon receipt of that indication, the ACD assigns and initializes a selected portion of computer memory for the agent as it would have if a circuit switched telephone connection were established. The agent is rendered eligible to receive calls, but only non-circuit switched telephone calls will be directed to that agent.
The features of the present invention which are believed to be novel are set forth below with particularity in the appended claims. The invention, together with further advantages thereof, may be understood by reference to the following description in conjunction with the accompanying figures, which illustrate some embodiments of the invention.